Conventional fastening methods for assembling after-market vehicle personalization accessories onto an automobile or other vehicle usually involve the use of screws, tin screws, or push pins that require drilling of the vehicle's sheet metal and plastic surfaces. While these hard fastening techniques may be adequate for attaching original equipment components that are installed at automobile assembly plants with the intensive use of predrilled and chemically treated fastening points that avoid rust on the vehicle sheet metal, these factory fixation methods and systems are not generally satisfactory for retailing aftermarket accessories that are typically installed directly by dealerships, retailers, or body shops outside the automotive assembly plants. Specifically, drilling holes in a vehicle's exterior surface to facilitate fastening specialty accessories often results in the sheet metal of the vehicle being left with minimum or inadequate weathering protection, which may cause severe rust and surfaces damage, possibly voiding a vehicle's factory warranty and a leaving vehicle owner's with expensive repair costs.
The use of double-sided adhesive tape is another example of a conventional fastening system that has been used for vehicle personalization components. The use of double-sided adhesive tape without any mechanical support at points of contact and stress results in a poor and fragile fastening support method for large and rigid components, particularly when components are installed on surfaces without proper cleaning and when components are exposed to extreme weather conditions. Moreover, double-sided adhesive tape cannot generally be used for vacuum formed or hand laid fiberglass accessories that lack an interior flat smooth surface that is necessary to mount the adhesive tape. A need therefore exists for systems and methods for mechanically fastening exterior accessories and other components onto vehicles in a robust and permanent way, without having to drill the sheet metal or other surfaces of the vehicle in order to avoid rust and body damage. It is an object of the present invention to provide a system and method for the proper, safe and permanent installation of vehicle personalization and utility accessories within the fast growing, innovative and very dynamic specialty equipment automotive industry.